MTN FastLink On Linux

 MTN Nigeria now has linux support for their FastLink data service. Though distros like Ubuntu has support for mobile broadband out of the box, one cannot do things like sending SMS or USSD without third party applications. One can now install the FastLink software found in the Linux folder on the modem. The one I tried came with a Huawei E1550 usb stick modem.

Running on Ubuntu 10.04

Wether this is from MTN or Huawei, it's good for us Linux users.

Minutes To 2011 (Quotes)

It's Friday December 31st 2010 11:28 PM just 32 minutes to 2011. I feel like posting a few unrelated Quotes I came across.

Nobody can give you justice, nobody can give you freedom or equality or anything. If you are a man, you take it.

                                        -Malcolm X

Don't give up, for that is ignorance and not according to the rules of this art...Like the lover you cannot hope to achieve success without infinite perseverance

    -Muhammad Bin Muhammad Al-Fulani Al-Kashinawi

You know you are a geek when your car cost $500 and your computer $5000. 

   -Unknown

Everyday is new year day, depending on when you start counting

   -Me

Ubuntu Nigeria

When I started using Linux around the year 2002, I felt like I belong to an elite group of computer users. Back then I believe there were less than 10 of us in Maiduguri. But apart from feeling important, I also felt a little bit odd, because it's always difficult to tell an average Windows user why I run Linux. Not everybody understands the excitement of exploring something new, different and flexible as Linux. I think it was RedHat 8.0. But 8 years later, now the situation is different, it's not uncommon to see, everyday computer users including elderly people now running Linux. And this is all thanks to Ubuntu. As it's slogan goes "Linux For Human Beings", Ubuntu has brought Linux to the non-techies without taking the flexibility away. Though without concrete data, I believe Ubuntu has seen a great increase in users not only in Maiduguri but across Nigeria. A testimony to that is the Ubuntu Nigeria blog

Vala

Programmers know that choosing a programming language involve trade-offs. You may wish to use language A because it provides feature X but can't live without feature Y which is only found in language B. For example you may wish to use C because it produces native code that runs fast but cannot live without garbage collection which is found in Java or C#.

Based on that I normally categorize programming languages into three broad groups

1- Interpreted languages like Python and Ruby
2- Run-time dependent compiled languages like Java and C#
3-Native compiled languages like C.

Languages like C are bare-bone languages with very little convenience features like strings or garbage collection but they produce binaries that run very fast.

Interpreted languages sacrifice speed for convenience, they are usually very easy to use but run very slowly compared to compiled languages.

Languages like C# and Java tries to give you best of both worlds in that they provide convenient language features and compile to target a virtual machine at the expense of a little speed.

Vala is a new language developed by the GNOME community. It aims to give the best of all worlds. It comes with convenience of languages like Java and C# and compiles to native binary just like C.

Vala is still in development but is pretty mature to be used for many tasks and is available for Linux and Windows.

The language is introduced on the Vala site as follows;

Vala is a new programming language that aims to bring modern programming language features to GNOME developers without imposing any additional runtime requirements and without using a different ABI compared to applications and libraries written in C

Find it at http://live.gnome.org/Vala

Independence Day

Tomorrow is Friday 1st October 2010. On that day Nigeria will attain fifty years of political independence. Many argue that there is nothing to celebrate but I disagree. Despite the fact that there are many bumps on the road since 1960, I believe we should look at the brighter side of things instead of perpetually lamenting. We may complain of corruption and bad governance and even argue that Nigeria is a failed state. What we forget is that "Failed State" helped brought an end to apartheid in South Africa and fought for peace in many African states.

Whether to celebrate or not is not the issue, the important thing is that day should not be allowed to pass unnoticed. We either choose to celebrate or reflect. Talking about reflection, I bumped across a copy of the independence speech given by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on 1st October 1960.  

I reproduce it below as lifted from Webtrends Nigeria

Today is Independence Day. The first of October 1960 is a date to which for two years every Nigerian has been eagerly looking forward. At last, our great day has arrived, and Nigeria is now indeed an independent sovereign nation.

Words cannot adequately express my joy and pride at being the Nigerian citizen privileged to accept from Her Royal Highness these Constitutional Instruments which are the symbols of Nigeria’s Independence. It is a unique privilege which I shall remember for ever, and it gives me strength and courage as I dedicate my life to the service of our country.

This is a wonderful day, and it is all the more wonderful because we have awaited it with increasing impatience, compelled to watch one country after another overtaking us on the road when we had so nearly reached our goal. But now we have acquired our rightful status, and I feel sure that history will show that the building of our nation proceeded at the wisest pace: it has been thorough, and Nigeria now stands well- built upon firm foundations.

Today’s ceremony marks the culmination of a process which began fifteen years ago and has now reached a happy and successful conclusion. It is with justifiable pride that we claim the achievement of our Independence to be unparalleled in the annals of history. Each step of our constitutional advance has been purposefully and peacefully planned with full and open consultation, not only between representatives of all the various interests in Nigeria but in harmonious cooperation with the administering power which has today relinquished its authority.

At the time when our constitutional development entered upon its final phase, the emphasis was largely upon self-government. We, the elected representatives of the people of Nigeria, concentrated on proving that we were fully capable of managing our own affairs both internally and as a nation. However, we were not to be allowed the selfish luxury of focusing our interest on our own homes. In these days of rapid communications we cannot live in isolation, apart from the rest of the world, even if we wished to do so. All too soon it has become evident that for us Independence implies a great deal more than self-government. This great country, which has now emerged without bitterness or bloodshed, finds that she must at once be ready to deal with grave international issues.

This fact has of recent months been unhappily emphasized by the startling events which have occurred in this continent. I shall not labour the point but it would be unrealistic not to draw attention first to the awe-inspiring task confronting us at the very start of our nationhood. When this day in October 1960 was chosen for our Independence it seemed that we were destined to move with quiet dignity to place on the world stage. Recent events have changed the scene beyond recognition, so that we find ourselves today being tested to the utmost We are called upon immediately to show that our claims to responsible government are well-founded, and having been accepted as an indepedent state we must at once play an active part in maintaining the peace of the world and in preserving civilisation. I promise you, we shall not fail for want of determination.

And we come to this task better-equipped than many. For this, I pay tribute to the manner in which successive British Governments have gradually transferred the burden of responsibility to our shoulders. The assistance and unfailing encouragement which we have received from each Secretary of State for the Colonies and their intense personal interest in our development has immeasurably lightened that burden.

All our friends in the Colonial Office must today be proud of their handiwork and in the knowledge that they have helped to lay the foundations of a lasting friendship between our two nations. I have indeed every confidence that, based on the happy experience of a successful partnership, our future relations with the United Kingdom will be more cordial than ever, bound together, as we shall be in the Commonwealth, by a common allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, whom today we proudly acclaim as Queen of Nigeria and Head of the Commonwealth.

Time will not permit the individual mention of all those friends, many of them Nigerians, whose selfless labours have contributed to our Independence. Some have not lived to see the fulfilment of their hopes—on them be peace—but nevertheless they are remembered here, and the names of buildings and streets and roads and bridges throughout the country recall to our minds their achievements, some of them on a national scale. Others confined, perhaps, to a small area in one Division, are more humble but of equal value in the sum-total.

Today, we have with us representatives of those who have made Nigeria: Representatives of the Regional Governments, of former Central Governments, of the Missionary Societies, and of the Banking and Commercial enterprises, and members, both past and present, of the Public Service. We welcome you, and we rejoice that you have been able to come and share in our celebrations. We wish that it could have been possible for all of those whom you represent to be here today: Many, I know, will be disappointed to be absent, but if they are listening to me now, I say to them: ‘Thank you on behalf of my Thank you for your devoted service which helped build up Nigeria into a nation. Today we are reaping the harvest which you sowed, and the quality of the harvest is equalled only by our gratitude to you. May God bless you all.

This is an occasion when our hearts are filled with conflicting emotions: we are, indeed, proud to have achieved our independence, and proud that our efforts should have contributed to this happy event. But do not mistake our pride for arrogance. It is tempered by feelings of sincere gratitude to all who have shared in the task of developing Nigeria politically, socially and economically. We are grateful to the British officers whom we have known, first as masters, and then as leaders, and finally as partners, but always as friends.  And there have been countless missionaries who have laboured unceasingly in the cause of education and to whom we owe many of our medical services. We are grateful also to those who have brought modern methods of banking and of commerce, and new industries. I wish to pay tribute to all of these people and to declare our everlasting admiration of their devotion to duty.

And, finally, I must express our gratitude to Her Royal Highness the Princess Alexandra of Kent for personally bringing to us these symbols of our freedom, and especially for delivering the gracious message from Her Majesty The Queen. And so, with the words ‘God Save Our Queen’, I open a new chapter in the history of Nigeria, and of the Commonwealth, and indeed of the world.

Sources:

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Mr. Prime Minister: A Selection of Speeches Made by Alhaji the Right Honourable Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, K.B.E., M.P., Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Apapa: Nigerian National Press, Ltd., 1964).

A Little Mathematics For Independence Day

This year (2010) 17 African countries will mark their 50 years of independence from colonial rule. Many people especially in Nigeria think there is nothing much to celebrate. Some go on to call Nigeria names like "fool at fifty". I am not going to argue for or against that point of view but I will try to make a comparison of Nigeria with the United States and see whether we have made any progress in the last fifty years. I picked the U.S.A because people often cite examples with the United States when trying to make a point about how backward we are.

The United States became independent in 1776, that is 234 years ago. If we are to assume both Nigeria and the U.S are human beings and the U.S to be an adult of 40 years old then how old will Nigeria be in comparison.
Using simple mathematics we can apply the following formula

50/234 = x/40

where x is Nigeria's age if it were human.

x =8.54 years

So Nigeria is only an 8 year old child compared to the 40 year old America. For a child of that age, I think we've not done too bad.

Dealing With Piracy

I was reading an article about Selling Software In China and came across the following statement under the topic "Dealing With Piracy";

"Actually “Dealing with piracy” is a misleading title, because in reality there is no way to deal with piracy. People will crack, copy and use your software as they wish, and they will not even feel guilty about it. Again, let’s not judge, but accept the fact that piracy is simply part of the culture (for some it is piracy, for others it is just sharing) Instead of talking about code scramblers and licensing keys, let me offer here a contrarian (perhaps even controversial) point of view, in the wisdom of “if you can’t fight them, join them”. You should consider yourself lucky if your software gets pirated, because that means that it got traction. For every pirated software there is always a happy user behind it (after all, they chose to pirate your software, and not your competitor’s), and if this user convinces their employer to use your software, then there is a good chance that these companies will be your future clients."

This statement makes a lot of sense to me. Instead of looking at piracy from the constant negative point of view why don't we try to be innovative and tactically deal with, and profit from it. For example, companies like Oracle and Microsoft have made some money in Nigeria because of piracy. The easy availability of pirated copies of their software gets a lot of users for them and these users end up paying for the certifications offered by these companies. Imagine a piracy free Nigeria where users only have access to legitimate copies of these software, definitely there will be very little or no users and almost zero dollars generated from the certifications.

I am not saying piracy is good, but if you can't get through it why not get around it.